What are the pros and cons of supercharger vs. turbo

[kellertxgen5]

Some factors:

cost
potential damage to car (stress to parts etc)
warranty status?
gas mileage
performance
installation
anything else I missed

Thanks!

[Crowley]

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

Some factors:

cost
potential damage to car (stress to parts etc)
warranty status?
gas mileage
performance
installation
anything else I missed

Thanks!

This will open a can of worms .. I'll give it my best try having owned both, but I am by no means an expert.

Both will cause more stress to parts and will definately affect / void your warranty. Typically I would say that a supercharger solution should be a bit cheaper than a proper turbo solution. Most superchargers should be a little bit easier to install than a turbo charger solution. I'd say performance is basically up to what you want to do. If you keep the LS3 stock, I would be they all perform basically the same at the low boost you will produce without breaking your engine. The big differences will be when you want to turn up the boost. The turbo should be a bit more efficient but you may sacrifice some low end (although some small turbos will spool pretty quick and can be compariable to a top mount S/C in regards to low end.

Both solutions will need a good tune. This will be the heart of your solution and shouldn't be overlooked or taken with a grain of salt. Make sure you get a good tune and if it is your daily driver, get a nice safe tune. You may sacrfice a little power, but will make up for it in reliability.

Anyway, I know I danced around your question a bit, but I don't think you can go wrong either way. My choice would be top mount supercharger with an intercooled solution.

Crowley

[GTAHVIT]

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

Some factors:

cost
potential damage to car (stress to parts etc)
warranty status?
gas mileage
performance
installation
anything else I missed

Thanks!

I'm by no means the expert but here is what I've seen... Keep in mind this is based on Daily Driver/Street applications.

cost:
Super chargers are generally less expensive. Particularly the centrifugal ones. Then Roots/Twin screw then TC assuming it's a twin set up.

potential damage to car (stress to parts etc):
They are all going to cause the engine to wear faster. Especially when you have high boost and high compression ratio. You can do Low boost and high CR or high boost and low CR but not high both. The biggest complaint agianst Turbos is heat. They generate a ton.

warranty status?:
Some tuners will warranty the FI kit if they install it. Lingenfelter is one of the most notable But if you do it yourself there is no warranty normally.

gas mileage:
This is purely based on driving style, FI can actually increase your MPG if you drive it like a blue hair granny. But No one has that much self control and it defeats the purpose of even having FI... Which is to try and put the loud pedal through the firewall every time you step on it. So forget about MPG..

performance:
Well for a DD they all will get pretty close. The general consensus around here is that 600hp is about as much as you want on a street driven car. And any FI Kit will get you there no problems. As far as power delivery goes. Roots and Twin screw will give you almost instant power delivery Neck snapping in some cases. Centrifugla SC and Turbos have a much smoother power delivery which make them a little more "driveable". Again this is personal preference. As far as what gets you more power? Well unless you want a Roots blower from a Top fuel dragster, a twin turbo is your best bet for 800+ HP... MHO

installation:
Typically SC's are easier to install as they are basically an intake manifold swap and a intercooler install. Most are bolt on kits Turbos, IMVHO, aren't bolt on no matter what the manufacturer tells you. It is a more complicated system and unless you are a very experienced I wouldn't mess with it. Have someone else do it for you. Which in reality, goes for any FI kit.

anything else I missed:
There is a lot more to FI than what I mentioned here. Exhaust gas temps, forged bottom ends and the drive train upgrades needed to harness all the extra power you get from FI... But that gets beyond what I'm comfortable taking about. Any of these FI system must be tuned by an experienced ECM tuner... an absolute must.

Hope this helps.

By the way there are tons of old threads out there that you may want to search for.

[SoloSK71]

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

cost

An S/C will BASE price around 5% to 10% lower than a turbo. A PROPERLY set up S/C will be about 5% to 10% more than a turbo.

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

potential damage to car (stress to parts etc)

Other than different methods of obtaining power, a turbo using exhaust gas and an S/C using a pulley off the engine, boost pressure is boost pressure. No difference.

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

warranty status?

Affect slightly different areas of the vehicle prior to the engine, otherwise no difference

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

gas mileage

A S/C *should* give slightly better gas mileage at lower speed. Once you open them up, it does not matter.

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

performance

For current generations, a similar sized turbo and S/C will have very close performance.

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

installation

S/C will be a LITTLE harder to install, but nothing serious. Maybe a half hour difference on 6 to 8 hours.

Originally Posted by kellertxgen5

anything else I missed

I personally like the S/C whine more than the turbo whine. Other than that, whatever floats your boat.

- SK

[2010 2-Tone]

Well put guys!!!! I agree with all.

[Paperer]

I am no expert either but:

SuperChargers sound like "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrn!"

Turbo's are like "BOOOOOSHHHHHTttttttt!"

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Paperer

I am no expert either but:

SuperChargers sound like "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrn!"

Turbo's are like "BOOOOOSHHHHHTttttttt!"

[Ferrarimk13]

but superchargers dont have the cool sound of the blow off valve. =D

[SoloSK71]

It really does come down to which sound you like best these days.

- SK

[ToddSS]

It all depends on how far you want to take your build. If your happy with X amount of horsepower then a Supercharger might be right for you. If your like me and get a little taste of boost its like crack, and you'll want more and more.

Superchargers may be cheaper up front but there are some problems that come with them. I currently have a SRT-10 with a Paxton on it and I change my belt every oil change due to the belt starting to slip.

Centrifugal S/C higher HP in upper RPM range comes with an intercooler
Roots type S/C/ mass amount of power down low usually with no intercooler
Turbo's can make a ton more boost then any S/C but cost more upfront

[Ruben Rocha]

why dont you just put a supercharger and twin turbo????